HELBI

The family home of Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos at Halepa on the island of Crete is imbued with a sense of the major events that took place in Greece during his lifetime. The home in which he lived for over 30 years (from 1880 to 1910) and then occasionally from 1927 to 1936 is to be restored. An honorary committee has been set up comprising celebrities who will supervise the project that will see the historic home converted into a museum. In 2002, the Greek state bought the home from Venizelos's heir Nikitas Venizelos and granted it to the Eleftherios Venizelos National Research Foundation, which has its headquarters in the home. It had been renovated in 1970 but has since been found to be unstable and requires immediate reinforcement. The western Crete department of the Greek Technical Chamber has completed the plans and has budgeted the work at about 2 million euros. Parliament and its Speaker Anna Psarouda-Benaki are to meet part of the cost and will help the foundation raise the remainder. The foundation has launched a nationwide campaign that included a concert in January this year at the Athens Concert Hall. The next step is a Celebrity Dinner on Wednesday, May 30, at the Goulandris Museum of Natural History. The committee is headed by Psarouda-Benaki and includes Metropolitan Irenaios Galanakis(foundation president), Goulandris Museum general secretary Fali Voyatzaki, film director Pandelis Voulgaris, Helene Glykatzi-Ahrweiler, Goulandris Museum president Niki Goulandri, and Andreas Drakopoulos of the Niarchos Foundation.